Vending game apparatus



Jan. 1, 1929.

' B. G. RENTZ VENDING GAME APPARATUS Filed Aug. 15. 1921 2 Sheet s-Shet'1 \\w \\\\v \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\v a o a x \kg Jan. 1, 1929.

1,697,288 B. G. RENTZ VENDING GAME APPARATUS Filgd Aug. 15. 1927 2sheets-sheet 2 I 1/ M /i4 I M? 45 l Lia 4 24*" v 23 i I; III. I 11 2 122 54 :r v

ment 16- Patented Jan. 1, 1929.

nears sr BERT G. RENTZ, OF WELLS, MINNESOTA.

VENDING GAME APPARATUS.

Application filed August 15, 1927. Serial No. 212,898. I

My invention has for its object to provide a vending game apparatusintended for general use, such as the embodiment of a ballthrowingapparatus in a vending machine.

The invention, as illustrated, includes basket-ball game apparatusembodied in a vendlustrate the inventiomlike characters inclicate likeparts throughout the several views.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a view in longitudinal central vertical section, with someparts shown in different positions by means of broken lines;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the secondary bottom partition and theparts carried thereby removed from the machine;

Fig. a bottom plan view of the same:

Fig. a is a fragmentary view of the parts shown in Fig. 3, with someparts removed;

Fig. 5 is a detail view principally in section taken on the line 5-5 ofFig. 2; I

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary rear end view of the machine with some partssectioned on the line 66 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 7 is'a fragmentary detail view with some parts sectioned on the Iline 77 of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a view corresponding to Fig. 7

. with the exception that the ejector has been operated to release theball of gum; and

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary detail view with some parts sectioned on theline 9-9 of Fig. 1.

The numeral 10 indicates a casing having main and secondary bottoms 11and 12, re-' spectively,

spaced the latter above the former to afford a combined mechanism andcoin compartment 13. Saidcasing 10 is also provided with a transversevertical partition.

14 which extends from the secondary bottom 12 to the top of the casinglOand divides said casing above the compartment 13 into a relatively smallthe backof the casing 10 and a relatively large compartment 16 at thefront thereof for a basketball game. A door 17 in the back of thecasing-1O affords access to the compartment 18 and a door 18 at the topof said casing a'fiords access to the storage compartstorage compartmentat Each door1718 is held in place by dowel pins that take the place ofhinges and a key-actuated lock. I

r The top of the casing 10 covering the compartment 16 is rearwardlyinclined and has a large glass panel 19, and large glass panels 20 formportions of the sides of the casing 10 so that the interior of thecompartment 16 may be viewed through said panels '19 :and 20. A window21, having a transparent pane, is formed in the compartment 14 andthrough which the contents of the storage compartment 15 inay' be seen.

The machine illustrated is vending spherical pieces of gum m with whichthe storage compartment 15 is filled, through thedoor 18. The secondarybottom designed for p 12 is removably secured in the casing 10 by pairsof pins 22 mounted in longitudinal grooves 23 on the sides of the casing10. The entire back of the casing 10 is removably'secured in position sothat the same cannot be tampered with but at the same time may beremoved so that the secondary bottom 12 and partition 1 which is securedthereto,

as shown in Fig. 2, may be'removed from' the casing 10 with all partscarried thereby.

The partition is removably secured to the seconda-ry bottom 12 by havingits lowerend seated in a transverse groove in said bottom and when thecasing 10 is held against removal therefrom bythe side and top thereof.

The pieces'o'f gum so are removed from the compartment 15 one at a timethrough a passage 24 in an agitator slide 25: mounted In a way formed inthe secondary bottom 12 for movement longitudinally of the machine. Acurved sheet metal plate 26 secured in the bottom of the compartment 15is arranged to cause the balls of gum ac to roll to the. center of saidcompartment where they will enter "the passage 24' one at' a time, asshown in Figs. 7 and 8'.

The plate 26 holds the agitator slide 25 against lifting movement in itsway and has a large centra aperture in the field of which the passage 24is positioned during the'various movements of the agitator slide 25.Secured to the agitatorv slide 25 are a plurality of upstanding agitatorpins 27 which work within the aperture in the plate 26 and move the ballof gum 00 during the movement of the agitator slide. 25 and therebycause one thereof to enter thepassage 24 NVorking in the Compartment.13, longitudinally of the machine'is an ejector 28 in the.

form of a slide attached to the under side of presently appear.

the secondary bottom 12 by a pair of washerequipped screws 29 whichextend through longitudinal slots 30 in said ejector, see Fig. 3. Thisejector 28 can only be operated by the insertion of a coin in themachine, as will Works on the upper surface of the ejector slide 28 andis intermittently operated thereby by a pair of front and rear pins 31and 32, respectively, on said ejector slide. The pin 31 is arranged towork in a groove 33 in the under side of the secondary bottom 12 and theway for the agitator slide 25, and the pin 32 works in a slot 34 on thebottom of the agitator slide 25 which extends forward of the rear endthereof. During the forward movement of the ejector slide 28, the pin 32engages the agitator slide 25 at the inner end of the slot the piece ofgum or in the passage 35 rests, and the piece of gum in the passage 24rests on the piece of gum in said passage 35, see Fig. 7. Formed in thedeck 36, forward of the passage 35, 1s a gum escape passage 37. Duringthe forward movement of the ejectorslide 28, the samemoves under thepiece of gum in the passage 24 and cuts off the escape thereof and movesthe piece of gum in the passage 35 forward therewith on the deck 36 andwhen stopped, the passage 35 is in registration with the escape passage.37 so that the piece of gum in the passage 35 may escape therethrough,as shown in Fig. 8. I

Underlying the escape passage 37 is an inclined runway 38 which extendsto the front of the casing 10 and aligned therewith is a gum dischargepassage 39 formed in the front of the casing 10, see Fig. 9. A partitionplate 40 in the compartment 13 closes the runway 38 thereto, both at theside and rear, see Figs. 6 and 8. The main bottom 11 extends forward ofthe casing 10 and has secured thereto, as shown in Fig. 9, a pair ofupstanding pins 41 which stop the piece of gum w as it rolls through thedischarge passage 39, as indi cated by broken lines, where the same maybe easily picked up by the operator of the machine.

For operating the ejector slide 28 and then resetting the same, there isprovided the fol lowing connections, which include an operating slide 42for the ejector 28 mounted in a deep channel 43 formed in the right-handedge of said slide for free sliding movement longitudinally thereof.Rearward move ment ofthe operating slide 42 in its channel 43 is limitedby a stop pin 44 secured to the The agitator slide 25' ejector slide 28,extends transversely through its channel 43 and is arranged to beengaged by a stop shoulder 45 on said operating slide. Forward movementis imparted to the operating slide 42 by a rod 46 comprising inner andouter sections connected by a flexible joint 47. The rear end of the rod46 is fieX- ibly attached to the operating slide 42 by having its rearend portion bent laterally at 48 and laid in a transverse notch 49 insaid slide. The forward end of the rear section of the rod 46 isarranged to engage the inner face of the front of the casing 10 tolimitthe forward movement of the operating slide 42. The forward sectionof the rod 46 works through a hole in the front wall of the cas ing 10,and applied to its outer end is a knob 50 by which said rod may beoperated. A coiled spring 51, attached to the rod 46 at its laterallybent end 48 and anchored to the pin 52 secured in the secondary bottom12, yieldingly holds the operating slide 42 retracted.

Normally, the operating slide 42 is free to be moved forward in respectto the ejector slide 28 by drawing outward on the knob 50 and it is alsofree for retracting movement in respect to the ejector slide 28 underthe action of the spring 51.

A coin is required to connect the ejector slide 28 to the operatingslide 42 when inserted into a transverse notch 53 in the ejector slide28 just forward of the front end of the operating slide 42 when in itsretracted position, see Fig.1. The coin y is inserted into the notch 53through a coin passage, not shown, in the top of the casing lO and acoin delivery chute 54 formed in the right-hand edge of the partition 14and the secondary bottom 12, see Fig. 2. Secured to the casing 40 andunderlying the notch 53 is a stop plate 55 on which the coin y restswhen in the notch 53.

The spring 51 normally and yieldingly holds the operating slide 42retracted and which slide in turn holds the ejector slide 28 retractedby the engagement of its shoulder 45 with the pin 44 on said ejectorslide. A stop pin 12 on the secondary bottom 12 is arranged. to beengaged by the shoulder 28" to limit the retracting movement oftheejector slide 28 and hence the operatingslide 42. In the retractedposition of the ejector slide 28, its passage 35 is aligned with thepassage 24 and its coin notch 53 is aligned with the-coin chute 54. Aspreviously stated, the front end. of the rear section of the rod 46engages the casing 10 as a stop to limit the projecting movement of theejector slide 28 and position the ejector slide 28 with its passage 35aligned with the discharge passage 37.

To operate the vending machine to secure one of the balls of gum m, thecoin g is deposited in the coin chute 54 and directed thereby into thecoin notch 53 in which it rests on the'support 55. The operator thentakes hold ment. During this movement of the ejector slide 28 the gum inin the passage 35 is carried forward on the deck 37 until said passageis aligned with the discharge passage 37 and at which time the gum 00drops through said passage 37 onto the runway 38 on which it rollsforward through the discharge passage 39 onto the main bottom 11 whereit is stopped by the pins 31 and. positioned so that the op erator maytake the same.

When the operator releases the knob 50,

thespring 5.1 retracts the operating slide 42,

thus releasing the coin y, which drops into After the initial retractingmovement of the clamping bar 42 its shoulder 45 engages the pin 44 andthereby retracts the ejector slide 28, as previously de scribed. Thecoin y in the compartment 13 may be removed by opening the door 17afterthe same is released by the use of a proper key.

Referring now to the game apparatus for playing basketball, the numeral56 indicates a basket mounted on the partition 14 within the compartment16. This basket 56 is carried by the heavy wire 57 fitted around the topof said basket and provided with a pair of depending legs 58 slidablymounted in staple-like keepers 59 on the partition 14. The basket 56 isnormally gravity-held in its lowermost position, as shown by full linesin Fig. 1. 7

Back of the basket 56 is a pocket 60 in the partition 14. The back ofthe basket 56' is opened as well as its bottom, with the exception of aninturned lip 61 which holds the ball 2, shown by full lines in Fig. 1.By raising the basket, as indicated by broken lines in 1, the ball .2will be released and dropped therefrom.

To throw the ball into the basket 56, there is provided a catapultcomprising an inclined cylinder 62 mounted on the front of the casing 10and having a co-operating piston-like member 63 to which is attached anoperating rod 64 that works through a hole in the cylinder head 65. Theouter end portion of the operating rod 64 is bent to form a finger-piece66 by which said rod may be held. The inner end of the operating rod 64is bent laterally to form a finger 67 seated in a recess in the outerface of the piston-like member 63 so that the same is flush therewith.This finger 67 works in a slot 68 in the cylinder 62 and limits thetravel of the piston 63 in both directions. Encircling the operating rod64 is a coiled spring 69 compressed between the piston-like member 63 onthe cylinder head and normally holds said member projected.

To place the ball z in the inner "end of the cylinder 62 so that thesame bears against the piston-like member 63, as shown by broken linesin Fig. 1, there is mounted in the compartment 16 a channel-like runway7 O. This runway 7 O has its front end hinged at 71 and is normallygravity-held in an inclined position, as shown by full lines in Fig. 1,so that the ball 2 cannot roll into the cylinder 62. To raise the runway7 0 into its dotted line position, as shown in Fig. 1, at the time theejector slide 26 is voperated, there is provided a boll-crank 72 hingedat 73 to the secondary bottom 12 with one ofits arms extended under therunway for action thereon and with its other end extended downwardthrough aligned slots 74 in the secondary bottom 12 and ejector slide28. During the ejector movement of the ejector slide 28, said slide atthe rear end of its slot 74 engages the depending arm of the bell-crank72 and operates the same to raise the runway 70, as shown by brokenlines in F 1. A cross pin in the ejector slide 28 is arranged to engagethe depending arm of the bell-crank 72 during the return. movement ofthe ejector slide 28 and thereby move said bell-crank from undertherunway 7 O and permit the same to return by gravity to its normalposition.

During the lifting-movement of the runway 7 0, its free or inner endengages a. de-

ending extension 76 on one of the legs 58 and thereby lifts the basket56, as shown by broken lines in Fig. 1, to' release the ball .a

and permit the same to drop onto the raised runway 7 O and be conveyedthereby into the cylinder 62, and held as shown by broken lines in Fig.1.. Before the ball 2 can be thrown into the basket 56 it is necessaryfor the operator to release the knob 50 to permit the retractingmovement of the operating slide 42 and all parts associated so that therunway 70 will return to normal position under the action. of gravityand thereby release the basket 56 and permit the same to return tonormal position in like manner.

To throw the ball a, the piston-like member 63 is retracted by drawingoutward on the finger-piece 66 and then released to attempt to throw theball into the basket 56. If the ball is thrown into the basket 56, thesame will be held, as shown by full lines in Fig. 1. 1f the ball doesnot enter the basket 50 it drops onto the runway 7 O and is held therebyat the partition 14 so that the next time the runway 70 is raised, saidball will be conveyed thereby into the cylinder 62. It will thus be seenthat it will be impossible to get the ball a into the cylinder 62without operating the machine by means of a deposit coin in order to getone of the balls of gum w.

The skill with which the ball 2 is thrown.

way 7 0 for theleg extension 76 when the runway 7O is operated to liftthe basket 56 and release the ball aand position said runway to causethe ball z'to be deposited .in the cylinder 62.

What I claim is: Y

1. In combination with the ejecting mechanism of a vending machine,ball-throwing mechanism, a ball, a runway normally held to cause theball to roll away from the ballthrowing mechanism,-and means operated bythe ejecting mechanism for positioning the nism of a Vending machine,ball-throwing.

mechanism, a'ball, arunway normally held to cause the ball to roll awayfrom the ballt-hrowing mechanism, a basket normally positioned to catchthe ball when thrown by the ball-throwing mechanism, and means oper*ated by the ejecting mechanism during its ejecting action to positionthe runway to cause the ball to roll into a position to be acted on bythe ball-throwing mechanism and :move the basket into a position torelease the ball to the runway andprevent the ball from being againthrown therein, said basket and runway bemg arranged to return to normalpositions during the resetting of the ejectingmechanism.

4-. A Vending machine having operatlng connections, an e ector arrangedto be actuated by said connect-ions when connected thereto by adeposited coin, and automatic means for resetting the operatingconnections when released and causing the release of the deposited coinand the resetting of the ejector, in combination with ball-throwingapparatus, a ball, and means operated by the ejector during its ejectingaction for positioning the ball to be acted on by the ballt-hrowingapparatus and rendered inoperative bythe resetting of theejector by theoperating connections, when released.

5. A ivending machine having-operating connections, an ejector arrangedto be actuated by said connections when connected thereto by a depositedcoin, and automatic means for resetting the operating connec- 'tionswhen released and causing the release of a deposited coin and theresetting of the ejector, in combination with ball-throwing apparatus, aball, a ball runway normally posi tioned to causethe ball to roll awayfrom the ball-throwing apparatus, and means operatedbytheejector toposition the runway to cause .the ball to be delivered to the ballthrowing apparatus and permit the return of the runway to normalposition when the-operating connections are released.

6. A vending machine having operating connections, an ejector arrangedto be act-uated by said connections when connected thereto by adepositedcoin, and automatic means for resetting the operating connections whenreleased to cause the release of the deposited coin and the resetting ofthe eejector, in combination with a ball-throwing apparatus, a ball, abasket positioned to catch the ball when thrown'bytheball-throwingamechanism, and means operated by the ejector during itsejecting action to move the basket to release the ball to the runway andprevent thesame from again being thrown therein and for moving saidrunway into a position to cause the ball to roll into a position to beacted on by the ball-throwing mechanism,

.saidirunway and basket being arranged to rei turn to normalpositionsduring the resetting of the operating connections and theejector.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

BERT RENTZ.

